Page 125 of The Boathouse By the Loch

‘But you all welcomed me into your homes, your hearts, and I was living a lie. I’m not the person you all thought I was. I’m not Robyn, I’m Bonnie.’

‘What’s in a name?’

‘What’s in a name?’ she repeated, getting angry. ‘What’s in a name? Everything, as it happens – at least for me.’

‘Ah, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. So wrong. We got to know you over the last few months, and you’re stillyou, whether you call yourself Robyn or Bonnie.’

As Joe turned down the driveway of the boathouse, she was expecting it to be deserted, but there was David’s car, and other cars parked haphazardly in the driveway, as though people had arrived in a hurry to vacate their cars.

Joe pulled the car up outside the house.

‘What’s going on?’ She recognised the cars – Gayle’s, and Brodie’s, Duncan’s delivery van. And a rental car that Jake, Faye and her daughter must have arrived in earlier that evening.

Joe turned in his seat to look at her.

She stared at him. ‘I don’t understand …’

‘I wanted to tell you – I really did.’

‘Tell me what?’

‘Why don’t you go inside?’

‘Aren’t you coming with me to check I don’t steal anything? Are they all here to make sure I don’t take anything that isn’t mine?Well, Bonnie’s, I mean.’

Joe got out of the car and whizzed around to the other side, opening the car door for her.

She reluctantly got out. She had not expected everybody to be there, making it all so, so much harder. But where were they?

Joe walked up to the front door. He didn’t have to punch in the alarm. The door was ajar. They were expected.

He walked in, but she didn’t follow. He turned around, walked back, and took her by the hand, saying softly, ‘You’re going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay.’

He led her up to the kitchen door and opened it. The door swung wide open.

Joes whispered, ‘They all swore me to secrecy. Sorry, I wanted to tell you. Whether you call yourself Robyn or Bonnie, that doesn’t change the fact that we all love you.’

She stared around the table. Everything was as it had been before, except it wasn’t her by the kitchen counter turning around with a large bowl of salad, about to drop it when she was confronted by Judith. It was Judith herself. She walked over to the table and put it down.

Everyone was looking a little flustered, as though they’d only just taken their seats.

Her homemade pizza and lasagne were in the centre of the table.

Judith said matter-of-factly, smiling at Bonnie, ‘Let’s start over.’

David stood up, walked around the table, and pulled out her chair. ‘Please, take a seat.’

Bonnie slowly sat down, not sure what to make of it all. Was she dreaming?

She felt David’s hand rest gently on her shoulder, then thefeeling of his lips kissing the top of her head.

She watched Joe take a seat and then raise a glass. She looked around the table, stunned that they were there – her friends who were, to her, family. They were all there, in the same seats, raising a glass – the two children, raising a glass of squash – as though all that had happened when Judith had called the police had just been a horrible, horrible nightmare.

Joe said, ‘To the happy couple. Congratulations on your engagement.’

David stood by her chair, a hand on her shoulder, raising his glass.

Duncan said, ‘Hear, hear!’

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